The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of 4-fluoro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one with high selectivity. 4-fluoro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one can be prepared by stoichiometric reaction of chloroethylene carbonate with potassium fluoride. The reaction in this case takes about 24 hours. JP 2000-309583 describes a process for the preparation of 4-fluoro-1,3-dioxolan-2-one by reaction of ethylene carbonate with fluorine. Since direct fluorination reactions are very highly exothermic, the ethylene carbonate is dissolved in organic solvents, and the fluorine gas or a fluorine-containing gas mixture is introduced into the ethylene carbonate. The reaction temperature in this case is in the range from 20 to 100° C. Direct fluorinations are highly exothermic reactions, and care must therefore be taken to keep the reaction temperature within controllable limits. Consequently, according to JP 2000-309583, the gas phase which is introduced is cooled.